At tonight’s General Membership meeting of Help Save Manassas, David Core announced that he would be running for the Republican nomination for City Council. David is a solid conservative who is very concerned about the effects of illegal aliens on the City of Manassas, and would make a fine addition to the council. His active membership in Help Save Manassas should make it very easy for him to obtain plenty of convention delegates for the nominating convention that will be held in January, and give him a solid advantage in a Republican convention.

David’s announcement focused on illegal alien issues, which was understandably very well received by this audience. Probably the most popular statements were his concerns over the expenditure of public funds to produce Spanish-language materials by the Manassas City government and the school system. Not only do these materials cost taxpayer dollars, but help to consign legal immigrants to a permanent underclass of non-English speakers. To the extent that these can be legally and effectively discontinued, David Core wants to ensure that public documents are printed in English. It’s an idea well worth considering.

In addition to Mayor Douglas Waldron, Manassas City Councilmen Hal Parrish, Jonathan Way, and Steve Smith are all up for re-election this May. Jonathan Way has generally done an admirable job on the council, Hal Parrish has often departed from a conservative position, but Steve Smith’s tenure has been extremely troubling. Smith is the only councilman to have opposed Manassas City’s adoption of the Section 287(g) Program, supported Howard Daniel’s request for a massage therapy business in a residential neighborhood from the outset, and opposed Andy Harrover’s proactive zoning enforcement plan. Replacing Steve Smith with David Core would be a vast improvement in the city council, and establish a strong conservative majority along with Marc Aveni, Andy Harrover, and Jonathan Way.

Readers in Manassas should get in contact with David Core (as soon as he gets his campaign website up) to see what they can do to help him out. David Core is a councilman in the mold of Jackson Miller, and while many are happy to see him serving as a Delegate, Jackson Miller is missed in the city council. David Core would give us this kind of councilman, and establish a solid conservative majority on the city council by knocking off the biggest republican-in-name-only the council has and replacing him with someone who is fully dependable and trustworthy. Sign up for the convention, give him a donation, and support this terrific candidate for city council in every way you can. I really can’t think of a finer candidate to support.

Now the question is whether there will be additional candidates, as time is running short. HSM Vice-President Dan Arnold has already declined to run, which I find hugely disappointing, although I understand how job and family obligations have had to take precedence which is the right choice. He would have been a truly outstanding candidate. Sheryl Bass is a closet liberal who would be utterly dangerous, and would probably have a hard time getting a Republican nomination. Iraq veteran and take-no-prisoners iconoclast Phil Kiver would definitely perform well in a convention, although he may be just too plain honest to succeed in a General Election. He sure would make council meetings well worth attending, though. No-nonsense conservative observations from an utterly fearless “common man” as he would likely give would have Andy Harrover and Marc Aveni trying really hard to stifle chuckles during council meetings, and cause a visible discomfort by Mayor Doug Waldron, who would likely agree but nevertheless be somewhat aghast. City council meetings could well be the must-attend social event of the city as a result.

Within the next few weeks we should see the rest of the likely candidates announce. It should be an interesting list, as Steve Smith, and possibly Hal Parrish, despite his huge campaign war chest, are considered vulnerable here to a primary challenge. David Core will, and should, lead the pack of potential Republican nominees, and is very likely to beat Steve Smith in a convention supported by a coalition of Christian conservatives and Help Save Manassas members.

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12 Comments

This should be a very, very interesting nomination process, and I suspect there will be a few more candidates presenting themselves than those already identified. Also, what are the chances that someone might challenge Waldron for Mayor? I could see Hal Parrish doing that. I could also see Steve Smith running as an independent, or even jumping ship to the Democrats (he certainly votes like one).

Don’t discount Bass’ chances. She has won several general elections as a school board member. She has long-standing ties to the community. Since the current make-up of council is all male, she could pull a Hillary and appeal to the woman’s vote. She could make a big issue out of the efforts of council to tighten regulations on abortion clinics. Who knows?

I think Core will be a very strong candidate. You cannot challenge his conservative credentials one iota. I hope that he doesn’t come off as “too conservative” which may cost him some votes in a general election, but I think he should win handily at a convention or mass meeting.

Not sure about Way’s prospects. He seems like he brings a lot of balance to the council, and has demonstrated a very thoughtful approach to governing. His time on council will help in a general election, but the challenge will be the nomination process. I don’t know if he has a large group to tap into for support, from which to draw supporters at a convention.

Parrish may be vulnerable to a degree, but he’s got the name, the money, and the tenure and the ties to draw from to get people to a convention.

Great news about David! He’s definitely a solid conservative. It certainly will be a very interesting convention with many different candidates to choose from.

To second what Greg says above, I am also very pleased with Jonathan Way’s performance on the board. He has earned my respect by consistenly demonstrating that he’s in touch with what’s going on in the neighborhoods and that his commitment to Manassas is genuine. I’m definitely going to support him, he deserves the opportunity to continue on council.

What a absolute tragedy for the residents of the City of Manassas. Another Jackons Miller type. Guess the City will be faced with more lawsuits. I sure wish Greg L. would keep his nose out of the City’s business. He lives in PW County. In addition, I strongly object to any Councilman or Councilwoman being a member of HSM. It just does not have a very good smell, actually it stinks.

What qualifications does David Core have? What does he know about City Government, budgeting, finance, quality of life issues, public service, strategic planning, etc. If his platform is going to be anti-illegal immigrant that is not enough.

I think Mr. Belfry’s analysis of the Manassas City Council contenders is right on the mark. I agree my biggest weakness is not having a strong, active partisan political group as a source of convention delegates. What I do have is a wide variety of demanding business and government experience and a credible record of practical conservative accomplishments. While that is not an exciting election theme, it is an important contribution to the actual workings of the City Council. It should be interesting to see what it is that delegates and voters truly value in a Councilman.

I hope that David Core is ready to have every element of his background, and the background of his family members and associates examined in excruciating detail. He and his family members have not always been the perfect examples of conservative and Christian principles, and he will likely embarrass the Republican Party and harm our chances of consolidating our position in Manassas if he gains the nomination. Greg… please do a little more background research about Dave and his family before you offer your endorsement so enthusiastically. We have values that are greater than politics… like Godliness. Dave and his extended family won’t stand up to the test. You may need to corner him about this privately.